Welcome back Cheick

At his best, Cheick Tiote is up there with the very best defensive midfielders in the league. At his worst, he is a liability. Unfortunately, Tiote has fast become Newcastle United’s forgotten man due to his appearances for the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations, his lengthy injuries and his regular suspensions but can he still bring something to the table?

In my last blog I referred to an incident in the game against Norwich when Tiote was needlessly booked after 5 minutes which all but removed any influence he could have on the game. As a defensive midfielder whose sole job is to break down the attacking opposition plays, he will attract bookings and he will make fouls but, time and time again, he lunges in to challenges with little to no hope of getting the ball and receives a deserved yellow. His Newcastle United career is chequered with yellow cards and suspensions but I don’t see him as a nasty player. He isn’t a Roy Keane type who seems to want to get the ball and the man, he just seems to lack control. Tiote needs to be more astute, more controlled and more intelligent in games. If Tiote he can regain the form he had when he first signed, he will play a massive part in shifting Newcastle United up the table.

All the top teams, not just in the Premier League, but in world football, have a proven defensive midfielder. The kind of player who is no nonsense. He does not score many (any) goals, he does not make defence splitting passes he simply retrieves the ball from the on-coming attack, plays a simple ball to the side and repeats this for 90 minutes. When Tiote first signed this is exactly the role he played and he played it magnificently. Yes, there were many bookings and subsequent suspensions and when Tiote didn’t play, we often lost. Just thinking back through Newcastle United’s recent history, when we have had this type of player, we have often played well. I’m thinking of players like Barry Venison, Dietmar Hamann, David Batty, possibly even Nicky Butt. No nonsense players, not fabled for their passing or glamour, they just did a job.

I remember talking to friends about Tiote saying what a world class player he was and sure enough, as is the case with all high performing Newcastle United players, he was linked with expensive moves away to the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea almost immediately. Tiote had a huge influence on all games he played in and seemed like the find of the century when he signed for a staggering £3.5m in the summer of 2010 but where did it all go wrong for him?

One thing to consider is a lack of competition, often a major issue for Newcastle United. We have simply never had the strength or depth in the squad to have 2 players able to compete for each position; players have retained their starting position even when they perhaps didn’t deserve to, there were no other team mates in the background pushing them to start. Vernon Anita and Jack Colback have both been used as defensive midfielders but neither have the physical attributes or tenacity that Tiote has to be truly world class in that position, quite simply, Tiote possibly became too comfortable.

Tiote also seems to lead a rather coloured life away from the pitch. There have been numerous reports of falsified driving licenses, fraud, court cases and multiple wives which, in modern day football, is actually quite mild but come on, more than one wife, surely no man deserves that?!

Taking on board all of the international tournaments and matches he plays in, often resulting in round the world flights, his suspensions, his recent injury and reported “lack of interest” in playing, his career has pretty much come to a stuttering halt so it was refreshing to see him back in a Newcastle shirt against Norwich but we need him to play regularly and last the full 90 minutes. Steve McClaren has already said that he substituted him during the Norwich game to avoid getting red carded.

Despite the reported interest after his first full season at Newcastle United, Tiote remains a Newcastle player and it will be interesting to see if Steve McClaren, who worked with Tiote at FC Twente in Holland, can help him rediscover his form of old. A midfield of Tiote, Wijnaldum and Sissoko is a good foundation to build a team round; even if 2 of those 3 might not be with us next season.

I’m a big fan of Tiote and I’ve always had a soft spot for a defensive midfielder as they often go overlooked unless they start scoring wonder goals. Some world class defensive midfielders are able to add more to their game; the likes of Matic and Vieira but these are few and far between. It was branded the “Makelele” role after he played his part in Chelsea’s title winning sides; no nonsense is probably the best way to sum it up.

Newcastle United’s defensive problems have been there for all to see this season and there have been constant calls from fans (myself included) for the club to invest in a top class centre back and left back but can Tiote potentially provide part of the solution in the defensive midfield role?